Martin Short has spoken publicly for the first time about the death of his daughter, Katherine Short, describing it as 'a nightmare for the family'. The 76-year-old actor and comedian said his daughter, who died by suicide in February at age 42, had battled extreme mental health issues for a long time.
In an interview with CBS News Sunday Morning, Short compared his daughter's death to that of his wife, Nancy Dolman, who died of ovarian cancer in 2010. 'The understanding [is] that mental health and cancer, like my wife's, are both diseases, and sometimes with diseases they are terminal,' he said. 'My daughter fought for a long time with extreme mental health, borderline personality disorder, other things, and did the best she could, until she couldn't.'
Short said he had a 'deep desire' to bring mental health 'out of the shadows' so people would not be ashamed to talk about it. He stressed the importance of 'not hiding from the word suicide, but accepting that this can be the last stage of an illness'.
Katherine, the eldest of three children adopted by Short and Dolman, largely stayed out of the spotlight. She earned a bachelor's degree in psychology and gender sexuality studies from New York University and a master's in social work from the University of Southern California, working as a licensed clinical social worker.
Short also spoke of losing several close friends and family in the past year. 'It's staggering,' he said, adding: 'You just have to breathe in, breathe out.'
